Currently casts for immobilizing or stabilizing a patient's injury are made using either plaster or fiberglass (where the material is molded over the patient's arm or leg or the like to immobilize the injury) or are premade in generic variable adjustable sizes. The fit of a plaster and/or fiberglass cast is dependent on the skill of the medical provider and even a skilled provider may not be able to fit a cast perfectly as soft tissue swelling may be variable during the time of healing. The variability in fit decreases the comfort during the healing process and can delay the healing process and/or may cause iatrogenic infection or other soft tissue damage, such as compartment syndrome or the like, if the cast is too tight and cuts off circulation to a distal extremity. Changes in swelling, comfort issues or other concerns may require that a second cast or even a third cast be placed or the placement of the cast may be delayed to allow for soft tissue swelling to go down.
These issues increase medical costs to the patient and insurance company due to increased provider time with the patient. In addition, there is an increased cost to society due to delay in return to work due to pain, disability, increased office or procedure visits and increased length of healing time. While some adjustable casts have been proposed that may be adjusted to adapt to changes in swelling, such proposed casts do not provide enough stability for many types of fractures.